Hi Stephanie, Artichoke is a perennial plant. Summer eat ends the harvest, toughens the edible parts and causes it to flower. Once the fruiting and harvest is done, cut back the plant (foliage and stems) to the soil level. You can either cover with mulch to initiate summer dormancy or allow the ornamental flower buds to form. Stop watering until early fall when the plant sends out new shoots in the fall. (You can stimulate a light crop in the fall by working compost into the soil around plants as growth resumes in cool weather.) If you wish, you can transplant new shoots into a new location in the garden or just leave them place to produce another year. Make sure you leave only the most vigorous shoot on the old plant for growth in the spring.
Hi Stephanie, Artichoke is a perennial plant. Summer eat ends the harvest, toughens the edible parts and causes it to flower. Once the fruiting and harvest is done, cut back the plant (foliage and stems) to the soil level. You can either cover with mulch to initiate summer dormancy or allow the ornamental flower buds to form. Stop watering until early fall when the plant sends out new shoots in the fall. (You can stimulate a light crop in the fall by working compost into the soil around plants as growth resumes in cool weather.) If you wish, you can transplant new shoots into a new location in the garden or just leave them place to produce another year. Make sure you leave only the most vigorous shoot on the old plant for growth in the spring.